Nets Sign Center Jason Collins on New Contract

Seth Wenig / APBrooklyn Nets Jason Collins speaks during a news conference before an NBA basketball game against the Chicago Bulls at the Barclays Center, Monday, Mar. 3, 2014, in New York

Brooklyn franchise gives green light for new 10-day deal with N.B.A.'s first openly gay player

The Brooklyn Nets will ink a new 10-day contract with Jason Collins on Wednesday, according to ESPN. The seven-foot center’s initial 10-day deal is set to expire Tuesday.

Brooklyn was the first N.B.A. franchise to sign Collins after he announced he was gay during an interview with Sports Illustrated last May. The veteran has been widely celebrated since the announcement, and is the first openly homosexual athlete to compete in one of America’s four major sports leagues.

Nevertheless, the 35-year-old has played down any talk of being a human rights icon. “I’m just trying to be Jason Collins,” he said. “What Jackie Robinson did for the sport of baseball and our society [is] tremendous. But I am just trying to be Jason Collins.”